City of Seattle Mayor Mike McGinn has issued a stern warning to Waste Management for putting our neighborhoods at risk of a public health crisis.

In a letter to representatives of the company, McGinn outlines the City's right to impose significant penalties for Waste Management’s ongoing failure to negotiate with recycle drivers and its deliberate sabotage of the bargaining process. McGinn states that Waste Management can be fined "up to $250,000 a day" for service disruptions starting on August 1.

Ray Hoffman, Director of the City of Seattle's Department of Public Utilities, goes a step further. In his letter to the company, he states that the City is likely to impose fines of up to $1.25 million/day if garbage, recycle, and yard waste service interruptions extends to August 1.